The “shake up and invent your own reality” side of him has an even more serious implication. He lies all the time. Really easily. He says things that are not true with unnerving frequency; arguably more than any other candidate for major office…and there are a lot of creeps among them. Some dishonesty in national American politics is frankly routine; Romney-style dishonesty is a sight to behold…. He seems to believe he can get away with casual, almost routine dishonesty…. What is more radically inappropriate on a systemic, institutional level for us as Americans is that a man who may well take the Oath of Office in 10 months is choosing to get to that podium on a foundation of utterly unashamed, unprecedented deceit
- Rachel Maddow
Regardless of your feelings about Mitt Romney aide Eric Fehrnstrom’s “Etch-a-Sketch” comment, the symoblism inherent in the comment is unmistakable. I could spend a lot of time discussing how completely and utterly wrong Mitt Romney is on so many issues. I could go on at length about Romney’s willingness to pander to the GOP’s lowest common denominator. I’ve done all that, and there’s no need for me to revisit anything. Romney’s ideological malleability (flip-flopping) is hardly a secret.
No, my concern here isn’t with Romney’s fungible positions on the issues. That’s a matter for another time and discussion. My fear is that Republicans are willfully ignoring the one thing that makes Mitt Romney truly dangerous: his ability to lie frequently and without shame, as if the mere act of words exiting his mouth ipso facto confirms their veracity. I’m not talking about Romney’s ability to mold his convictions to fit the audience. All politicians, to varying degrees, are ideological shape-shifters. They’re salesman trying to sell themselves to an often skeptical customer base, so there’s an understandable desire to improve one’s marketability. It’s what politicians do. Mitt Romney takes the used-car salesman hard-sell to new and disturbingly deceitful depths…all while claiming with no hint of irony to be a man of integrity.
I find myself wondering if Americans are really so willing to look past Romney’s frequent, unashamed, and unparalleled mendacity and give him a free pass. Even if you’re a Republican, can you really be OK with the idea of a candidate- and potentially, a President- who seems completely disconnected from the truth? Is a candidate who’s willing to say anything, no matter how provably dishonest, to win the Presidency a man who deserves your vote? If you answer that in the affirmative, what does that say about you?
If a man will lie early, often, and without shame during a campaign, how can we be certain that he’ll be speaking the truth once he’s in office?
This isn’t a Left or Right, Red or Blue issue. It’s not about what, if anything, Mitt Romney believes; it’s that no one can truly know WHAT he believes. It’s about a candidate who claims to be a man of integrity, even as words have long since proven that he’s lying even about that. Calling Mitt Romney a liar isn’t character assassination; it’s the truth…not something Romney seems to have even a passing acquaintance with. The public record proves his epic, cold-blooded mendacity.
The question is what Americans will do with the knowledge that Mitt Romney’s a liar.
